Broadway: Spider-Man Reviews Round-up
February 9, 2011
The critics have cracked. And it’s “prognosis negative”!
Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark
After reporting earlier this week that New York critics were starting to get jumpy about being kept away from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York, despite the fact that thousands of people have already seen the show, Monday saw the gloves finally come off.
The endlessly postponed official first night, which was to finally be Monday 7 February, was postponed again. This proved too much for critics, including the all-powerful Ben Brantley of the New York Times, and UK critics who had booked their flights and were not going to rebook for anyone!
$65 million dollars is a lot to spend on a musical, and it’s safe to say that the show is nothing less than a phenomenon in the US, but not necessarily for all the right reasons.
The critics who have filed reviews so far did not hold back, with all of the majors we highlight below damning the show in pretty much every regard.
Whether their opinions will mean much to a show that is doing great weekly business at the box-office is hard to say, although much of the hype is built on the injuries and problems that have plagued the show rather than any kind of artistic or entertainment merit.
Book tickets to Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York.
The Rivals – Reviews Round-up
November 24, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for The Rivals: Sir Peter Hall directs a glittering revival of Sheridan’s classic comedy starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles.
Book tickets to The Rivals at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
End of the Rainbow – Reviews Round-up
November 23, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for End of the Rainbow: Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett puts in a career-defining performance as Judy Garland in Peter Quilter’s new musical play based on the star’s final days, directed by Terry Johnson.
Book tickets to End of the Rainbow at the Trafalgar Studios
Fela! – Reviews Round-up
November 17, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for FELA!: Direct from Broadway, Bill T Jones’ Tony award-winning dance, theatre and music show based on the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
Book tickets to FELA! at the National Theatre
An Ideal Husband – Reviews Round-up
November 11, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for An Ideal Husband: A sparkling new production of Oscar Wilde’s classic play directed by Lindsay Posner and starring real-life husband and wife Samantha Bond (Outnumbered) and Alexander Hanson (A Little Night Music), plus Elliott Cowan and Rachael Stirling.
Book tickets to An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville Theatre
When We Are Married – Reviews Round-up
October 28, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for When We Are Married: J B Priestley’s classic comedy about class and hypocrisy returns to the West End featuring an all-star cast including Maureen Lipman, Lynda Baron, Susie Blake, Roy Hudd and Sam Kelly.
Book tickets to When We Are Married at the Garrick Theatre
La Soiree – Reviews Round-up
October 25, 2010
A round-up of press reviews for La Soiree: The stars of La Clique are back in a sexy and funny new show full of awe-inspiring, spine-tingling, jaw-dropping and death-defying acts of circus and magic, at new venue the South Bank Big Top.
Book tickets to La Soiree
Flashdance The Musical – Reviews Round-up
October 15, 2010
A round-up of reviews for Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London
Victoria Hamilton Barritt in Flashdance The Musical
Hot on the heels of a West End filling up with shows based on 80s movie, it’s the turn of Flashdance The Musical to get its moment on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Based on the hit Jerry Bruckheimer movie, Flashdance The Musical is choreographed by Arlene Phillips and features a well-known score that includes Manhunt, Gloria and Flashdance – What A Feeling.
As the critics point out, the story is very Billy Elliot: an 18 year old girl from Pittsburgh, who is a welder by day and a ‘flashdancer” in a club by night, dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. When she falls for her posh boss, all of her dreams start to come together.
The musical features the star of the UK tour, Victoria Hamilton Barritt, and former Busted boyband member Matt Willis.
Critics were mostly full of praise for Phillips’ choreography and the lead performances, but marked the show down over the revised plot (trying to be darker in places) and of feeling manipulated and hit over the head with yet another movie-into-a-musical.
Read round-ups of reviews from the Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Stage below.
Special offer: Save £19.50 on tickets to Flashdance The Musical at the Shaftebsury Theatre in London
Onassis – Reviews Round-up
October 13, 2010
A round-up of reviews for Onassis starring Robert Lindsay at the Novello Theatre
Onassis proves to be a text book show for the term “mixed notices”, with Martin Sherman’s play dividing critics at the Novello Theatre.
The play has polarised critics as much the infamous Greek shipping tycoon Artistotle Onassis did in his lifetime, with reviews veering from Michael Coveney in the Independent heralding it as a “fascinating new play” to Charles Spencer in the Telegraph dubbing it an “excuse to reheat a lot of high-class scandal and rehearse a few conspiracy theories about Aristotle Onassis”.
Based on the last years of the controversial Greek tycoon, the play was originally produced as Aristo at Chichester to mixed reviews but with glowing praise for Lindsay’s performance. Sherman and director Nancy Meckler have subsequently rewritten the piece.
Read round-ups from the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Express and Variety below.
Special offer: Save £23.50 on tickets to Onassis at the Novello Theatre in London
Passion at the Donmar Warehouse – Reviews Round-up
September 24, 2010
Passion at the Donmar Warehouse – Reviews Round-up
Elena Roger and David Thaxton in Passion. Photo: Johan Persson
Passion is not the easy crowd-pleaser with which many thought the Donmar would choose to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 80th year. But it is certainly a powerful, though-provoking piece, and one which allows director Jamie Lloyd to team up again with Elena Roger following their 2008 success with Piaf.
Critics hail Elena’s performance as another triumph for the actress who continues to choose brave, demanding roles. Much praise is also heaped on the other strong supporting performances, notably David Thaxton and Scarlett Strallen, if not universally for the musical itself.
Read extracts from Passion reviews below, including The Times, The Telegraph, The Observer and The Guardian.
